


Stand By Me

by cheshire_cat99



Series: Stand By Me [1]
Category: Banana Bus Squad, Video Blogging RPF, Youtubers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Law Enforcement, Angst, Angst and Feels, Anthony | ChilledChaos pov, Crime Scenes, Crimes & Criminals, Drug Dealing, Established Relationship, Eventual Smut, Explosives, Flashbacks, Gangs, Inner Demons, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Minor / Serious Injuries, Minor Character Death, Mystery, Originally inspired by TTT but we drifted here, Police Inaccuracies, Traitor, Weapons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-06-19 23:23:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15520986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheshire_cat99/pseuds/cheshire_cat99
Summary: When Anthony’s partner, Adam Montoya, is charged with a crime he did not commit. He makes it his mission to prove Adam’s innocence. When digging deeper uncovers a conspiracy, the start of a gang war, and secrets to a past he didn't know existed, how far will he go in the name of trust? He grapples to save his friends- both new and old, and his partner and whatever love they had before this mess. Hopefully, he will not lose his job to top it all off.





	1. Keep on Walking

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter title inspired from the song Minimum by Charlie Cunningham
> 
> Disclaimer: the character's in this story have been written for fun and do not reflect the morals of their irl counterparts or the sort.

 

The dual office for the Special Narcotics Division and Criminal Investigation for the greater east side of Los Santos is filled with a quiet hum of people coming and going, and the rest of them left filling out paperwork. This late in the day most of the commotion has died down, along with people’s work morals.

Anthony has thrown his suit jacket over the back of an unused chair as he swivels around in his own to play Worms on his desktop, competing with Ze, who with a gentle bit of coaxing has taken an unofficial break.

He grins at Ze’s devastated curse, as he successfully blows up one of Ze’s remaining worms that had taken cover by tunneling underground.

“Tell me again why you’re still here Chilled?” Ze groans, pushing away from his desk to turn towards him. It was newbie luck that they were desk neighbors, just an aisle apart in the open office space. Evidently, he is giving up in trying to decide what to do with his last remaining worm against Anthony’s own.

“Nanner’s is just turning in the last of our paperwork to the Lieutenant. Trust me, when I get out of here I’m holding up a booth at the bar, and you won’t be able to drag me back out.” Tonight calls for a round of drinks, hopeless bets over whatever game is playing on the tv, and maybe even let loose and flirt around.

Laying down in a warm bed sounds good too, relaxing into a warm embrace, and saving money is always a plus.

After giving it some more thought he corrects himself, “You know I just want to lay around and do nothing, order takeout, and maybe watch some tv.” There is that show Adam has been talking about wanting to watch with him.

Ze just laughs. “I was about to say, that seemed unlike you considering you hardly drink as it is.”

“After this last case, you wouldn’t catch me saying no tonight.”

Looking over his monitor he checks Gassy’s office. The door is closed, the fresh golden plaque reading ‘Max Gonzalez’ faces out toward them, but the blinds are up. He can see Adam talking to Gassy inside. Judging by their expressions, and Adam’s visible excitement, it doesn’t look like they’re leaving anytime soon. He would bet the report was long forgotten.

“I forgot to ask, how did court go today?” Ze questions fully turned toward Anthony now.

“It went alright. Nanners' was able to pull the jury through to convince them our suspect. We’re looking at about a five-year sentence, not counting parole of course.”

“There’s always parole.” he sighs. “What was your case on again?”

“Man Ze, were you even here the past few weeks?” He chides him. 

“Yes, I was. I’m sorry I just had my own workload to take care of. You and Nanners aren’t the only ones who work in Narcotics you know.”

He rolls his eyes at that one, ignoring the jab. “It was the one with the soccer mom and substitute teacher. Complete with an affair and everything from using the school’s science lab to selling under the bleachers.”

“Wow. That sounds more like a plot point to Breaking Bad than anything else.”

“Well, they tried that at least. We got the camera footage from the school, but it seemed they were unsuccessful in making the drugs.

“So, what then your just arrested them on suspicion?”

“No. We ended up linking them to some disappearing medicine that belonged to the old granddad of the family.”

“It doesn’t sound that different from the other stuff that comes in.”

This last case was a backbreaker though. Not because they didn’t know who was supplying the drugs, but between getting anything out of suspects and mudding through the local popularity run politics, Adam and he were running circles around this deal. They kept coming up with the same leads but had no hard proof to back any of it up with. Finally, they were able to catch their suspects selling prescription drugs under some school bleachers, of all places.

Evidently, the suburban mom got into an affair with a past high school sweetheart, who was now her son’s science teacher. Somewhere down this rather dramatic path they became convinced they could get some easy money by selling drugs.

They almost dropped the case and only got this lead by chance when the Grandfather died, and the dad reported some of his medicine missing. After that, it wasn’t hard to find a trend in the nearby elderly family member’s homes.

The woman tried to cover it up. She admitted to seeing her lover- the substitute teacher, but said the drugs were all his idea and she had nothing to do with it. When talking to her boyfriend he turned just as quick to take the blame off himself.

It was another run of sheer luck that the case even got this far, let alone for the suspects to plead guilty even after the woman had called for an attorney. Because it’s always harder arresting the who-done-it if the person calls for their attorney.

“So, you aren’t going to the bar tonight?” Ze asks, cutting across his thoughts. He canceled their game after too many missed turns and the main menu screen loops on Anthony’s computer. Ze’s pulled up some document on his own. 

“It depends, I’ll see if Adam wants to go.”

“Come on it’s not like you have to have his permission to go out or not. He’s not your parent.” Ze laughs at him. “Being his partner is just on the clock. Don’t take it the wrong way, I love the guy, he’s hilarious, but you guys are practically joined at the hip these days.”

A healthy flush rises to Anthony's cheeks as he thinks of what to say.

Thankfully before he can reply, the door to Gassy’s office opens and Adam quickly strides towards them pulling on his own suit jacket. A nice grey one.  Anthony stands to meet him, but he passes by him heading towards the back.

“Chilled grab your jacket and badge were tagging on a bust,” Adam tells him over his shoulder.

“What?” He didn’t try to hide the whine in his voice. “Why are we going?”

Adam just waves him to come on. He notices Gassy has left his office too and is currently checking with other officers and rounding them up.

“Come on Chilled a little bit of action couldn’t hurt. The boys could need some good professional help,” with a raise of his eyebrows and a smile he adds, “and besides we have been cooped up in the office for too long we could use some fresh air.” Then he bounces back to the session room.

“It’s not like there’s plenty of air elsewhere,” Anthony says under his breath.

“Leave it to Nanners to feel pinned up like an animal in the office” Ze comments in his good-natured way.

Adam does get a bit stir crazy. He starts to fidget if he sits still for too long. It’s not uncommon to see him eating a variety of snacks that have been stored away in secret spots in his desk. It’s amazing they haven’t had a rodent problem yet. Even still working an extra drug bust wasn’t on his top five for the day.

Sighing, he turns off his computer and grabbing his jacket he follows his partner to the session room.

 

*

 

The room filled up quickly so that when Anthony arrives he is one of the last to enter.

With a nod in his direction, Lieutenant Gassy begins the briefing.

“I am going to keep this short, we are on a time crunch to get this at the right moment.” He paces toward the city map hung up at the front of the room circling a general area not far from the precinct in the lower end of the city.

Anthony knows of the area. When he was growing up, a lot of people bought residential property there for a time. It was supposed to be a hotspot residential area after some strip malls would be built, but plans fell through he guesses. Now it's a ghost town of what it could have been. Nonetheless, he wouldn’t say he’s that familiar with that end.

“A couple of days ago, we were first notified by an anonymous caller about a dealer making regular exchanges in the cover of an unused apartment. We suspect it was likely another resident in the area. We sent out a couple of officers to see what they could find. They reported back an affirmative on suspicious activity making regular appearances coming and going, but nothing enough to warrant an arrest. Further intel rang in a tip this morning and describes what seems to be plans for a bigger deal to happen this evening. We think they pushed the deal to today because they got wind of our officers in the area. Well, that was their first mistake. Luck seems to be on our side because I just got the call in and we have our warrant to search the place.”

Crossing his arms, he continues carrying everyone’s rapt attention. “In the light of things, I will warn you. We believe the suspects involved are either linked or more probably involved with the dealings of Crowley’s Circle- and must I remind you, they’re a recognized gang specialized in the market for illegal narcotics.”

The Circle has been on their radar for the past two years. The organization quickly rose out of seemingly nothing and drug circulation in the market has been at its largest ever since. Adam and Anthony, and countless other agents have been working to clean up the act.

They were one of Anthony’s first cases after being partnered up with Adam. At the time he was on the squad for about a year after graduating from being a drifter. Adam’s last partner was promoted out of the position and Anthony just happened to be available for the job.

The C.C., as they called it, seemed to have an endless supply from a large selection. So far, they haven’t been able to pinpoint how they are getting a hold of the drugs, but the most likely scenario is from over the border, or maybe even a plant hidden in the desert if you wanted to take a more conspiracy approach.

The rest of the briefing went as it always does, description of the area, background information, narcotics suspected/involved, and a reminder to follow the code. Keep you radios on, and don’t forget bodycams.

Preparing to file out Gassy leaves them a last remark, “Remember men, keep light on your toes with the utmost caution. Don’t rush into anything you are unsure of."

 

*

 

The patrol rolls up a little way from the target location; a safe distance to remain unseen, and therefore unsuspected. The place in question is an outdated apartment building, the kind with the rundown motel vibe with an outdoor entrance exterior design that gives a clear view to all the entrances to the apartments from the street. A few of the rooms have lights on, the other windows are blocked out with tin foil or cardboard.

Their room is 310.

Ohmwrecker waves them over once they have parked. Adam quickly climbs out from the passenger seat. Anthony follows him, not quite feeling the same level of enthusiasm, and joins the forming crew around their assigned head.

Gassy tends to stay back at the precinct these days after his promotion and doesn’t leave his post often. It looks like Ohm won today’s position, and here he thought dating the Lieutenant would come with better perks.

Ohm quickly reiterates most of the details. “Keep it routine guys. We’ll keep some of us back here for backup just in case things turn up and go south. Remember vests, helmets, and guns, checked and secure. The apartment appears to be vacant for now. I know I don’t need to say this, but don’t shoot unless you have too. Keep your radios on .”

Anthony has already decided to hang back with Ohm and the rest when they were at the precinct. This part of the job is always a bit harder for him to control. Adam says it’s because he gets trigger-happy under stress, but that’s only an exaggeration. He is perfectly capable of holding fire thank you. Adam can be a bit jumpy around gunfire himself, even if he doesn’t admit to it.

Today he decided the heat wasn’t worth it, so he sits in his car listening into the radio static and follows Adam and the three other officers with his eyes as they file up the stairs to the third story room.

Anthony takes the chance for another glance around. The rest of the squad were by him, not counting Slam and himself, about four others. This seems a bit overkill, he thinks. They’ve done riskier busts on tighter shifts.

Further along the street, the small banks and old stores neighboring by were all closed for the workday evening. Only a few trucks and regular 18 wheelers passed by adjacent to their location.

His ears perk at the sound of a call in on the radio. He hears the officers knock at the door. After a couple of more tries and no answer, the men kick in the door, quickly piling in.

“There isn’t much of a lock system invested in this place,” someone calls in.

“Not anymore at least,” another answers.

“Try not to break anything,” Ohm reminds them.

Once they are out of sight all ears tuned to the radio piece. Ohm has his mic in hand to give instruction, watching carefully up at the apartment.

He looks really calm, yet still retaining a sense of seriousness that can be seen in the way he sets his shoulders and tip his peaked cap lower on his brow.

It reminds Anthony of seeing cops on those 80’s shows he used to watch as a kid. Back then he thought it would be so cool to look that collected.

Of course, he probably just looks like a buffoon following Adam around. He runs his tongue over his teeth thinking it over, normally by now he feels that adrenaline rush start to kick in when doing this type of work, but right now he is just tired. It just really isn’t his day.

Sweat is collecting on his back, the sensation itches. The late summer sun peaks just over the horizon just to shine through the car windows. He wishes it was cooler.

The static follows the boys through the procedure of checking all the rooms for the boyfriend or anyone else. No time passed when they give the clear.

“No one here. Begin search now Ohmwrecker ?”

“Yes,” Ohm replies.

“Over and Out.”

Anthony could make out Ohm’s radio crackle in and out a second or two before his own would play back a bit delayed.

The men inside each cover separate ground carefully looking for evidence of a leave spot for the alleged drugs, or any recent activity in the place.

So far clean. He hears Adam check in with his results. “This is SeaNanners, the bedroom is clean. Of drugs, wouldn’t say for much for the rest of it. The balcony and connecting fire escape are clear. Only just a couple of dry rotted chairs out there and Fire escape is rusted enough it would probably drop if someone stood on it. I’m moving inside. Over”

The rest of the radio dialogue sounds pretty much the same. He imagines the apartment is an easy search. Small square space and what not. It was definitive that the owner didn’t live in it. Old trash and clutter fill the dusty place.

He tries to think over the details. A Mr. Lin rents out the apartment for his son. The son Adrien Lin is around his mid-thirties and pays for the rent monthly, but has been living in his girlfriend’s place for about a year now. High school dropout. Does he work at a dry cleaners, or was he a carpet cleaner? He doesn’t remember.

Once the agents’ give their final clear, Anthony turns off his radio. Adam’s going to owe him big time if he has to file paperwork for this.

From by his car, he can hear Ohm’s radio click back in and recognizes the voice to one of their new rookies more by the unfamiliarity of it than otherwise.

“I’m going to do one last check the air vents. Can someone bring me up some tools? If that is alright with you of course.” 

“You can proceed, rest of you can start heading back down.” Anthony watches as he clicks off the radio with a sigh “waste of a good afternoon.”

After the tools are delivered the radio comes back on, by this time Anthony’s found himself ambled by Ohm’s vehicle.

“I see a blinking light in this vent. That’s not normal is it?” There’s an interrupting clank of tools. “Uh, location is an overhead vent in the living room, close towards the central area of the two-bedroom suite.”

“Hold on, that doesn’t sound -” Adam’s voice comes through before cutting out with a pop. When he cuts back in it sounds as if he is standing right behind Anthony.

“Everybody get down!”

Suddenly a flash lights up the windows, and Anthony is already ducking behind the car when the bang resonates. Looking back the windows are shattered, and smoke is quickly rising out into the open air.

 thrums around him, but the stillness from the apartment is the loudest. Men rush around him, but he felt rooted as he watches flames start to lick up the walls.

Alarms and sirens are loud and deafening in his ears by the time he can make his feet move, pushing to help the rest of the residents out of the building and setting up a barrier for the fire department and ambulance. 

A bomb squad was the first to be called in. Only once the clear was called were the paramedics allowed in. He watched them carry out the men on stretchers, unclear who was who laid out.

He tries asking around needing to know if his partner was alright.

“Three of the four officers are in critical care. The one who wasn’t had just made it out of the room when the bomb went off.” a paramedic tells him before he too is whisked off in the commotion.

There was a bomb. He knew it was a bomb that went off, but he can’t help but repeat it to himself. There was a bomb and Adam was in it.

He refuses the Mylar blanket with distaste. He was the only officer at the scene they offered it too and it put a bad taste in his mouth. He should be professionally better at handling this, his partner is in critical care because of him and he should be strong.

Maybe if he wasn’t such a trigger-happy person he would be a better officer and partner. It’s clear Adam shoulder’s the weight between them. And here he took it in stride practically freelancing it across cases.

You shouldn’t leave your partner, you’re supposed to be by their side. Some right-hand man he is.

Before he knew it, he was driven back to the station giving a formal witness report to the event. He remembers only through routine knowledge that he had also given a brief statement back at the complex.

He was even given a cup of water. He was asked of course, before they handed it to him anyway. He was being treated like they do for their regular everyday witnesses and suspects.

The water tasted rancid, like chemicals and paper.

Once he sits in the interview room he is glad for the chance of solitude, that and to finally have a chance to sit down.

Anthony barely recognizes the female officer who comes in. Introductions fly in one ear and out the other. Throughout the report, his eyes drift to the recording camera and over to the one-way glass.

His reflection is pale, rumpled, and if described, clammy. He looked like shit. He doesn’t even look like the same man from just this afternoon.

Everyone is tense in the precinct. A few friends talk to him and try to comfort him, but mostly the rest keep their distance. The worst part was their pity. It filled in their glances, tone, and even the way they stood by him.

His phone beeps in his pocket and he checking it shows the message is from Ze, along with a couple of missed calls from him preceding it.

“Hey call me when you get the chance.”

He wishes Ze was here, but he had clocked out sometime after Adam and he left. He clicks his phone back off. Battery is almost dead anyway.

Really, he isn’t sure why he is still here. Maybe they did not think they could trust him to drive, he dumbly thinks. It is the only thing he can come up with, but he would gladly call a ride if it meant getting out of this place. The walls felt like they were closing in, and he can understand Adam’s earlier complaint at being stuck in here.

He doesn’t want to check what the time is. He knows must be late, but he just wants someone to tell him if Adam is okay. All he knew was that he wasn’t dead, but that was hours ago, and his mind can’t help but go over every terrible possibility that could have come up by now. No one has told him about his condition or how he is doing. He is in the dark and he has never felt more out of the loop.

Eventually, Ohm walks up to his desk, where he was left alone at. Anthony puts back the game figurine he was tossing around in his hands.

“Come on, it is time you took the rest of the day off. Or-" Ohm corrects himself “-night by now. You should have gone home hours ago. In fact, take tomorrow off.”

He looks up at Ohm rubbing the bridge of his nose “No, no I can still come in.”

“Nope. Wasn’t asking.” The guy looks just as bad as Anthony, probably from holding the responsibility of the night taking its toll on him. Anthony decides to drop it.

“Have you heard anything on Adam?”

Ohm gave him a small smile. “He is out of surgery. His injuries  could have been worse from his vicinity to the bomb.” He pauses, “We’re lucky he was mostly caught in the collateral damage. They are still watching to see if anything comes up.”

“Can I go see him.”

“Sorry, but I don’t think so. He’s still in ICU, and he probably hasn’t woken up yet. I doubt he will be up anytime soon.”

Oh.

“I’m sorry,” Anthony says, unsure of what else to say.

“For what, it wasn’t your fault.”

Except, he wishes it was, it would be something concrete to place the blame on for all the pain around him. The office has never felt this somber. He doesn’t like his senior officer to look this strung out. He’s known Ohm for years and has never seen him like this.

“I just, don’t know. I should have gone in there with him.”

Movement catches his eye, past Ohm’s shoulder he can see Gassy behind closed doors talking on the phone, pacing in his office.

Following his gaze Ohm’s shoulders slump, but his voice remains reassuring, “He’ll be alright. I can take care of him. Don’t worry we’ll find who did this.”

 

*

 

It is dark out when he finally leaves the office. The roads are empty and the streets vacant. Realizing just how late it is makes Anthony want to curl up in bed and forget about the world in exchange for some much-needed sleep. But the place next to him would be cold and empty.

So instead of driving home like he was told, he finds himself heading out to the hospital.

Some part of him expected to get lost in the interlacing hallways of the hospital. Thinking these white walls and fluorescent lights would be his purgatory. Except, he was able to get around easily, like a fly to a flame, as if he had a specific honing device towards finding Adam. 

He comes to a stop in front of the critical care unit. Behind those doors lies Adam, a team of doctors, and whatever else was left of their team.

Left with no other plan he plops down in one of the chairs in the waiting room.

This is the first time in a case has hit him this close to home. There is always that first case for every officer that will hit him hard. His happened right when he was getting used to how things worked with the team. Adam and he responded to a neighborhood where multiple calls reported a crazy man wondering the streets. The guy was still just a kid, but he looked more dead than alive, like something off an episode of the Walking Dead. He ended up dying from a drug overdose. Back then he wished there was more he could do to help him.

They were at Adam’s place once the shift was over, he invited Anthony over for coffee. It was his first time in the man’s apartment. He remembers being surprised by how empty the place felt. From such a lively person he expected his home to reflect the SeaNanners that livened up the office every day

Sometimes all we can do is try our best. It was too late for him.” Adam had told him over his mug. “It doesn’t get better, it doesn’t get easier either, but you’ll find it gets bearable with time.”

“That’s some pep talk you got there. Did you practice your pitch on the drive over?” Anthony was taken aback by his bluntness.

“Hey, I’m trying here. It's just sometimes life will throw you those hard balls, and you’re going to have to find some way to hit them if you want to stay on the field.”

Well, it definitely isn’t any easier.

A door opens and closes softly entering the waiting area. The click is loud enough to disrupt his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. After a pause two polished, brown leather shoes step in front of him.

“Someone you know?” the stranger asks. There is familiar accent on his tongue, but Anthony can’t place where it’s from.

“Yeah.” He answers. He continues gazing at the man’s shoes. Italian, nice choice.

The man moves, and he expects him to leave him alone then. He stiffens when instead the man takes a seat next to him out of all the empty chairs around them.

“Montoya or Mr. Ripley?”

“Adam, I mean Adam Montoya, Officer Montoya.” He didn’t miss how the man addressed his partner, nor the lack of mentioning the third victim, but that detail didn’t interest him as much as the previous. “Do you know him?”

“Montoya? I know him well enough. You could say we are like family.”

Anthony finally looks towards the man. He doesn’t know him. As far as he knew the only family Adam had was his parents, and they don’t talk much besides holidays.

He was also dressed nice, real nice, in clothes that would take his own year’s worth salary saved up to buy and then some. A sharp suit dressed over a white shirt casually left unbuttoned at the collar. It made Anthony want to fix his own sloppy tie. His blond hair was even greased up in a trendy way that kept him looking younger than what he bet his actual age was.

He looked vastly out of place under hospital’s yellow lighting and dusty greenery. Someone he couldn’t see Adam hanging around with either.

“Well, they’ll only let you back there if your family.” He knew of course because he had already tried himself. That and he needed to break the silence that grew when it became apparent that the man wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

The man just chuckles. “I don’t need to see him, not now anyway. He’s going to be alright”

The man beside him shifts digging his phone out of his pocket. He types a quick message to someone before pocketing it again.

“I’ll need to be getting going. It was nice talking to you Inspector.”

With that, he leaves.

Anthony sits around a little bit longer, but after catching himself dozing off he follows soon after.

 

 *

 


	2. Keeping Time with Nothing but Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title inspired by José González's song Stay Alive.

That night, Anthony arrives home. He doesn’t bother to turn on the lights. He makes his way through his apartment and successfully doesn’t bang into any of his furniture. When he makes it to the bed he falls asleep before his head hits the pillow.

It’s all too soon for him to be awake when he groggily blinks against the sun shining through his bedroom window. He must have forgotten to close the blinds yesterday, he thinks, before turning away from the disturbance falling back asleep.

When he wakes up a second time the sun has passed and is no longer directly in his eyes. Softer shadows bask in his room. He blindly reaches for his phone on the bedside table, then the surrounding bed, but it’s not there. Oh well, it’s not like he _needs_ his phone, he reasons.

After a while though, the need to pee is what finally drives him to crawl out from under his warm duvet.

Stretching, he stands from the bed and accidentally steps on his clothes from the day before. Last night he must have managed to change into a pair of comfortable briefs and an old tank top to sleep in, but he also left his nice dress shirt and trousers crumpled on the floor. Great.

Sighing, he stoops down and gathers up his clothes. He’ll have to iron them later. While laying them out on the bed he digs his phone out from one of his pants’ pockets. He clicks it on for the time, only for the screen to dimly show the image of a low battery before turning itself off. 

He plugs it in and leaves it to charge, then makes his way over to the bathroom. 

He relieves himself in the toilette and washes his hands. His reflection looks rumpled from sleep but otherwise considerably better than yesterday. His hair definitely needed some work though. 

The rumbling discomfort of his stomach tells him that can wait so he heads over to the kitchen. 

Since the time on his microwave tells him its closer to noon than morning, he decides lunch is in order. Luckily, he finds leftovers that aren’t too old in his fridge and nukes them in the microwave. He tries not to think about the fact that its pasta from his and Adam’s last dinner date but fails. Out of habit he also makes a pot of coffee. 

Caffeine just makes the day more manageable, and it really grows on you after long hours in the office.

With his heated-up meal and coffee at the ready, he eats lounging back on his sofa watching tv. During his meal, he mostly switches channels than watching it. When he lands on a local news station reporting about yesterday’s events he turns the tv off entirely. 

Fixing his second cup of coffee, he remembers his phone. 

He goes back to his room and tries his phone again. It turns on but it is still not charged enough to take off the adapter, so he sits on his bed to read through the accumulated notifications on the device. 

Most of it's from Facebook and Twitter, and there are more messages from friends and family, but he can’t help but notice Ze’s name pop up the most on the list. 

He reads through the messages but they’re all the same. So instead of replying, he switches to the top of Ze’s number.

 

[ 7:36 p.m.] “Dude I heard what happened. Call me back when you get the chance.”

[8:00 p.m.] “Are you alright?” 

[8:23 p.m.] “It’s going to be alright, so far no casualties, right?” 

[9:00 p.m.] “No news is good news remember that? I hope that still applies.” 

[10:00 p.m.] “I know it’s late, I’m just seeing how you are doing.” 

[11:34 p.m.] “I hope your sleeping. You should be sleeping.” 

[8:00 a.m.] “I just heard about Adam, please call me.” 

[8:29 a.m.] “I’m really worried. Call me back.”

 

After the third ‘call me back,’ Anthony closes his messages and hits Ze’s name under his contacts and listens to his cell ring up the other. 

“Hey, how are you doing?” Ze picks up without missing a beat. 

“I’m doing good.”

There’s a pause. 

Ze sighs on the other side, he saw right through him. “You don’t have to lie to me. I’ve known you for years. You think I can’t tell when you’re lying.” 

“I’m not lying.” 

“Mmmhm.” 

“I’m doing better,” he corrects. 

“Well, that’s good to hear at least. Do you about know any updates on Adam?” 

“Nothing here.” His mind drifts back to the news. “What about you? Hear anything around the precinct.” 

“Nah it’s a swarm here. The media’s already gotten themselves involved in the case.” No kidding. “So they’re trying to keep everything under the ropes until they gather more intel, don’t want to spook the public over a possible mishap you know.”

“So has nothing been released yet?” 

“Not that I’m aware of. I’m pretty in the dark here.” 

Anthony pauses, “Are you not on the case Ze?” 

“Someone else has to keep the city safe while everyone else is on standby over this.” Ze jokes with him, but Anthony knows how aggravating it can be not to be on a big case like this. At least he would be upset. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ze asks after a pause. 

Anthony thinks about it. The case. Yesterday. Adam. All of it has been swimming in his mind and he doesn’t know what to grip on to stop himself from drowning. 

He blinks back against the tears gathering in his eyes, but Ze must hear him hiccup anyway through the phone. 

“Hey, hey,” he tries to comfort him, as best as he can over the speakers. “Have you gone and seen him yet? I hear he’s awake. I can- We can go see him if you want too.” 

“You’ll do that.” Anthony doesn’t deserve a friend like Ze. 

“Of course. You aren’t the only one who likes the Nannerman, and who doesn’t like company. It’s boring after all in those hospital rooms.” 

He hears someone speak to Ze over the phone “Alright, I need to get back to work, but I get off today around 4:30, I’ll come but your place then we can go by Nanners. Is that alright?” 

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“See you then.” 

With plans made, they end the call. Ze getting back to his important work, and Anthony with- well he should probably do something while he waits. 

Raking his hands through his hair, he realizes it really is gross.

First things first, he needs a shower. 

Since the bathroom is just a doorway from his room, he doesn’t bother taking a set of clothes and undresses on the way to the tub. He climbs in, turns the water on to scalding, and just stands there for a second, letting the spray just fall down his skin. 

Let’s see. He really should clean the place up. When was the last time he dusted? His fridge was looking low too, maybe he should go grocery shopping later too. But didn’t he just buy groceries? It couldn’t have been that long ago. Oh yeah, he and Adam might have ruined some of it. 

It went from cooking for each other on date nights to almost every night in his kitchen. They both enjoy cooking, and afterward, binge-watching different tv shows while eating.

This time, however, they kept getting distracted by each other. When they finally burnt the simplest dish, Adam banned him from his own kitchen. 

“I’m Italian you can’t do this.” Anthony laughs batting away the wooden spoon Adam kept berating him with. 

“I can and will. It was you who burned the pasta.” Adam scorns him, but amusement danced in his words. “You’ve lost your rights.” 

So, Anthony settled by sitting at the bar. He technically wasn’t in the kitchen now. And watched Adam work, complete in utter flow as if it were his own kitchen. 

Adam brings the spoon over to him, “Here taste.” 

Spicy. Tangy. “It’s good.” 

“Good,” he laughs. He always seems to be laughing. “Then I successfully salvaged the dish without poisoning.” 

“You just used me as your guinea pig.” 

“Well yeah, it’s  better you than me.” 

“What if I died.” 

Adam inches closer, leaning on the counter between them. “I wouldn’t allow that.” 

The cold water washing down on him shocks him out of the memory. He quickly finishes up and gets out of the offensive spray.

 

*

 

The hospital is a different place during the day. It still smells like chemical cleaning supplies and the light is still that yellow glow from the fluorescents, but it is also softened some by the natural light filtering in through the windows. 

There are more people too, that Anthony can see. All walking in the halls and filling up all the waiting rooms he and Ze pass by. Children can be seen playing on the table set in the play corner, while older people are filling out forms or scrolling on their phone. 

The waiting room for the ICU wing contains fewer people than the rest of the rooms they passed by. 

Many of the faces look familiar. In fact, similar. They have that look to them, with tightly drawn features and visibly pale skin that looks sickly. 

After talking to the nurse at the desk, he and Ze get Adam’s room number and are warned to not tire the patient. 

For lack of space and other factors, Adam hasn’t been moved to his own room yet. Instead, he is sharing a room filled with seven or so other cots. Almost all them are filled but Anthony only looks long enough to identify which one is Adam’s. 

Across the room, their eyes meet, and he can visibly see Adam brighten upon their arrival. He sits up straighter in bed, a magazine he was reading falling down his lap. 

“Hey buddy,” Anthony starts, feeling the tug of a smile on his lips and a wave of relief through his bones for seeing the man in front of him. 

Ze follows in behind him and greets Adam as well. 

“So Nanners how are you feeling,” he asks. 

Adam smiles at the two and does a shrug. “Ah you know, better than dead.” He answers carefully, his voice is a bit raspy. 

“Well, you’re looking good,” Ze adds, and Adam did, a looked a lot better than what Anthony worried himself over. Especially for someone who just rolled into the E.R. the night before. 

Adam has a few burns here and there, all treated and a couple wrapped. The hair that he’s been growing out from its close cut is singed back, along with his eyebrows. 

But Anthony’s seen fire survivors and knows Adam is lucky, and that’s not even counting the fact he was a bombing victim. 

“Thanks,” Adam laughs, “but it’ll take more than that to get my number.” He jokes with Ze. 

For some reason, that joke broke them into a fit of giggles. Maybe it was the tension, but they laughed for a carefree moment until it quickly died down when Adam went into a coughing fit. 

Anthony instantly goes to his side. “You okay?” he asks, but Adam waves him off. 

“Yeah, I guess I’m still sore from the tube.” he sighs once his cough under control. 

“Tube?” Anthony asks. 

Adam waves a hand through the air. It’s bandaged. “They took it out a couple of hours ago. It wasn’t as bad then.” 

“No, like, why did you need a tube? I thought,” it wasn’t that serious, his mind finishes, running back over his and Ohm’s last conversation. “You are okay right?” he asks. 

Adam scratches the back of his neck, heaving out a dry laugh, “I don’t know the specifics, but from what they told me I had delayed signs of a blast lung.” At the looks around him, he quickly added. But it’s fine now, it was just an in and out surgery, they’re monitoring me, for now, to be safe.” 

“Oh.” Ze voices. “Is it alright that we are here, should we let you rest?” 

“Yeah, no it’s fine, as I said, they’re just monitoring me for now. I could walk right out of here if I wanted too.”

Not with all those wires, you're hooked up to, Anthony thinks. 

The conversation turns after that to more mundane things with them just enjoying each other’s company. 

They continue like this until Ze’s ringtone sounds, and he excuses himself to take the call from a family member. He steps out and it’s just Adam and Anthony. 

Adam spoke up first, “So are you okay?” His hand reaching for Anthony’s, gently clasping it. 

Anthony gently squeezes it back, “Yeah it’s just all a mess.” 

“What’s a mess? I’m okay. You’re okay. We’re okay. What’s the problem?” Adam tries to joke, but Anthony frowns. 

“Everything’s a mess! You know what happened out there. You barely lived through it and I had to watch.” 

“Don’t talk like I’m dying here. You aren’t going to lose me that easily” Adam gently tells him looking him in the eyes. bringing their hands to his heart. 

“You’re everything to me” Anthony whispers. Feeling an intense urge to kiss that smile that is slowly making its way back onto Adam’s face. 

He leans forward a fraction but pauses when he hears someone start coughing from one of the other cots. 

He pulls back, ignoring the disappointed look on Adam’s face. 

Ze’s head pops back into the room, “Sorry Nanners, but the nurse says visiting times over, and that we should let you rest. We’ll come to visit you again.” He gestures to Anthony, “Come on Chilled.” 

”Ok, you need to rest now. Don’t move.” Anthony festers Adam. 

“Yes sir, mom.” Adam croaks out a laugh at his own bad joke. 

Anthony laughs with him, “I’ll visit again as soon as I can.”

 

*

 

For the rest of the day though Anthony feels to unsettled in his apartment to stay around any longer than he needs too. 

He found the place too quiet to be around in. 

So, when his alarm goes off the next morning he gets up and dresses for work, easily tuning in back to his average morning routine. 

When he arrives at the station, he doesn’t make it past the parking lot when he hears someone call out to him. 

Turning he sees Ohm and pauses momentarily allowing the older man to catch up to him. 

“Chilled, back already?” he begins once he’s caught up.

“I couldn’t stay away.” He joked. 

He planned on leaving it at that, not really in the mood for a morning chat, but as they reached the doors he remembered. 

“Why didn’t you tell me about Adam?” He paused, making Ohm stop short just beside him. 

“huh?” Something flickers over the man’s face, confusion crinkles his brow. 

“You told me Adam was doing alright. You left out the part where he was diagnosed with blast lung and underwent surgery.” He fully turned towards the man, arms crossed, and the feeling of defiance began to surge through him. Why hold this back from him? About his own partner. He deserved to know this. 

He watches Ohm’s face drop as he tenderly lets out, “I’m sorry Chilled I didn’t know. He was doing fine from what I had heard. Maybe it showed up later. Things like that can take up to 48 hours to pop up.” 

“Bullshit. Why wouldn’t you know that? Just because he fell out of your responsibility you dropped all tabs?” 

“Now Chilled you know I didn’t mean that.” 

“Yeah, yeah sure.” he pushed through the doors entering the station. 

“Wait,” Ohm grabs his arm. “I said I am sorry. And yes, I did know, but in your state back then I thought you needed the peace of mind. We were all shaken up, but you were there you saw it, he was your partner.” He paused Anthony didn’t interrupt. “But are you sure you are ready to be back so soon. I can let you off another day. The office is a mess right now and I don’t want to stress you out.” 

“That’s all the more reason to be back.” He shakes himself out of Ohm’s, now loose, hold on him. “Have you opened up the investigation yet, what’s on the board?” He refers to their back wall where they pin up open cases much like he had seen the day before on their drug bust. Only the wall can be open to anyone in the precinct, and usually only used for major cases. As for the case at hand, he really hasn’t given it much thought as to who planted the bomb, or why, but know that he here he’s itching to get on the case and bring justice for what was done. 

Ohm eyes him without answering immediately, and Anthony worries he really might send him home, but just as Ohm opens his mouth he spots Gassy over his shoulder. 

Interrupting him, he calls out to Gassy, in ignoring the looks from his co-workers as he goes over to the Lieutenant. 

“Chilled, I didn’t expect to see you back so soon,” Gassy says, but it's light-hearted. 

Anthony notices he is carrying a stack of folders. 

“Is that for the case?” he asks. 

“just copies the drifter forgot to hand out. For once I’m not complaining. I was getting claustrophobic between everyone from neighboring districts, media reporters, and government officials.” 

He follows Gassy to the back, making a mental note never to complain about not having Gassy’s job whenever pay came up.

“So, what do we know so far?” 

Gassy sets down the stack of folders on a table and leans back. 

“Roughly,” he begins, “Our analysts identified the bomb as a C4, although it seems to have been tampered in a way. Made to look like something akin to a child’s science project, but a regular C4 underneath the glitter and stickers. Besides that, we’re cross analyzing everything we can get our hands on, but the list of suspects is as vague as it gets right now.” 

“So no leads at all?” Anthony questions. 

“Personally I don’t think it was a single man job, but no gang has stepped up to take the name yet.” 

He recalls the briefing, “Do you think its related to Crowley’s Circle?” 

“Maybe.” Gassy shrugs. “But you can ask anyone in this building and half will tell you C.C. and the other side is convinced its B.B.S.” 

“I thought B.B.S. didn’t work with drug parties though?” 

“As of right now they haven’t been affiliated with it, but they also haven’t kept a track record for any kind of specialization between weapons sales, forgery, and God knows what else.” 

“So why them?”

“Because the pool of people to _actually_ act out on targeting policemen is relatively small, and you can trust the media to blow everything out of proportion and make the suspect list for you.” 

“So you think we were being targeted?” 

“A C4 seems a bit extreme for a sour drug deal don’t you think?” 

“So, what do we do now?” 

He watches as Gassy pushes himself up off the wall he had been leaning against. 

“First, this we does not include you.” He holds up a hand, “Chilled, Anthony, you are too close to be involved in this. For now, I am assigning you to desk duty.” 

“Sure, make me the lackey.” He protests. 

“No that’s not what I meant and that’s not what you’re doing.” Gassy tried again. “Anthony your partner is in the hospital. This is just for the time being. You can partner up with Ze and his own partner. You will continue to work on your open cases if you desire, but we’ll probably have to reassign the lot of them. We’re understaffed as it is. 

“That’s all the more reason to let me in on the case.” 

“You,” he emphasized, pointing at Anthony, “are not doing the case. Be happy we aren’t sending you off the precinct.” 

Gassy leaves the room, and Anthony sits alone in the empty room, eyes glazing over photographs and notes tacked up on the wall before he too gets up and leaves.

 

*

 

The week seems to crawl by. 

Anthony sighs, tossing a colorful figurine between each hand, eyes slowly gazing back over the empty desk mirroring his own. 

Anthony’s desk was ‘furnished’ as he liked to put it. He proudly displayed his collection of oddities and knickknacks over the space, while reluctantly he would admit his paper managing skills leaves much to be desired from his part. 

Adam’s had a simple touch to it. He had photos of his cats taped up and a beanie babysitting over his computer monitor. The dolphin had been a surprise from him and the guys. After all the references and jokes they made about the collectible toys, it felt only fitting to surprise the man with his very own from the squad for his birthday. 

Truth is, Anthony is bored without his partner. 

He’s made time after work to visit Adam the past couple of days. The next time he saw him after Ze’s and his visit, the hospital had moved Adam into his own room. Sometimes one of their friends will already be there when he arrives, but other times it's nice it just being the two of them. 

Getting up he decides to abandon the report he has been _diligently_ working on for a coffee break. 

He pulls his phone out as he walks down the hall, checking his notifications as he makes his way to the break room. 

Before he makes it there though, he hears whispering from off to the side in one of the conference rooms. It’s not too weird, sometimes the officers will go there for a bit more privacy while on break, but all the same Anthony’s interest is piqued. 

“I get what you’re saying, but why would he do it?” He hears a man ask. 

He pauses just outside the door. 

“For what else. He was obviously paid.” Another man answers.

A third, more gruff voice piped up, “Money will do that to you. He probably was in on the drugs too.” 

“You think?” the second guy again. 

The first one answers, “No kidding. He’s on the list, but Lieutenant’s still reluctant about it.” 

“Well, aren’t they close? I get that.” The second guy asks again. 

“Yeah, I guess some people just aren’t who you think they are.” 

Anthony can’t tell if it was the first guy or the second guy who said the last part, but the conversation quickly turns after that, and he continues his way to the break room. 

Pouring his coffee he thinks it over. 

They were obviously talking about some office gossip, and he is racking his brain for what it could have been about. 

He wouldn’t say he is nosey, but he prided himself for knowing about the inner dealings behind closed doors of this place. 

The first thing his mind jumps too is the bombing case. But he can’t think of anyone from that that they could have been talking about. 

They mentioned a list, obviously a suspect list. Maybe he could ask Ohm about it. 

Later that day, a senior officer approaches his desk after he finishes a call. 

“Detective Anthony, I have a couple of questions for you, just to clear up your witness report from the bombing incident from a couple of days ago. If you would follow me, please.” 

Without waiting for an answer, the man walks away. Left to follow, Anthony enters behind the officer into the interrogation room. 

“What’s all this about?” He asks because he knows everything has been cleared on his end of the report and can’t imagine what might need clearing up. 

“I’m sorry,” the man says, “I’m detective sergeant Kline, I’m not sure if we have properly met before.” 

“But what am I-” 

“As I said,” he cuts him off. “We are just asking a few questions, to clear up some matters.” He gestures for Anthony to sit at the small table. 

The man sits across from him and opens a case folder, flipping through its contents. 

“SO you left the precinct at around 06:45, tailing along on a bust. One you volunteered for correct?” he asks, moving on before Anthony could answer. “So, you wouldn’t have had any beforehand knowledge on the case, you just went along for the ride. Except you don’t really take on extra cases like that, at least not before. What was different here? Was there something sensitive going on that you couldn’t stay out of?” 

Anthony opens his mouth, not sure where to begin against the onslaught before sputtering out. “Am I being interrogated? You think I did it!” 

“No, don’t worry you are not a suspect.” The moment of hysteria he felt bubbling up his throat goes down maybe an inch. 

“Then why do I feel like your pointing your finger at me.” 

“I’m not pointing any fingers at you. I would just like for you to confirm some questions that have come up.” He pauses, making sure he still has Anthony’s attention. 

“So, it wasn’t your idea to go on the bust?” 

“No, it was Adam’s.” 

“Did Adam Montoya exhibit any strange behavior that day, or even leading up to that day?” 

“No?” 

“None at all?” 

“He was excited I guess, we had just closed a case that day.” He thought back over Adam’s jumpy behavior itching all over the office to get moving and working. 

The sergeant flips past another couple of pages, stopping at one reading down it with his finger. Anthony notices he’s wearing two large gold rings along his thumb and index finger. 

“He seems to have been a diligent worker in the past. Dedicated. Seems here he turned down a nice promotion about a year ago. Know anything about that?” 

That was just before he was assigned as his partner, and he told the sergeant as much. He kept the reason to a minimum, “He said this is the job he signed up for and the one he wanted.” 

The man hums, tapping a finger against the pages in front of him, before pushing them to the side. 

“Tell me what you know about Adam Montoya.” 

“In what sense, like his personality?” 

“No, no we already know his character.” He taps on the file. “From your words what do you know about Montoya. Would you ever consider him distrustful at times?” 

“I wouldn’t say distrustful,” his mind goes back to office pranks and Never Trust Nanners phrases. He chooses his words carefully, “he could get carried away sometimes, but this is Adam we’re talking about. He’s a likable guy.” 

“Mhm.”

Stolen words from earlier push to the front of Anthony’s mind. 

“You think Adam did it.” He says before he can stop himself. 

“I never said that.” 

“Then why don’t you ask him yourself?” 

The man sighs at Anthony. He knew he was being troublesome, but he shouldn’t have to cooperate with this. First, they don’t, no won't, tell him anything and now this. It’s not getting them anywhere close to finding the unsub. 

The man doesn’t answer but brings the file back over to him. 

“Let’s start over. What was that morning like?” he flips through the file. “It says here you and Adam had a court case that day.” 

That morning feels irrelevant to the situation at hand, but Anthony pulls it to the front of his mind. Retelling the day, if only to get out of here faster. He relates the details of the case, providing the evidence in court, and the jury’s decision. Everything. 

The man writes a quick note when he finishes. “So, you _were_ with him for most of the day. Did he say he had any plans that day after work?” 

“Why do you keep asking about Adam? He didn’t do it.” 

“Listen, I’m not supposed to tell you this.” He pushes back in his chair away from Anthony. “One of our men who was caught in collateral damage has come to today. He’s been under serious medical care, but as soon as he woke up he’s been screaming out Nanners did it, Nanners did it.” 

“But I heard over the com-” 

“I know we have the records, but we are obligated to not leave a stone left unturned.” He stands. “This is terrorism, Anthony. You need to understand that we have a traitor in our midst.” 

Anthony sits there watching him gather his file back together before leaving the room. 

The man pauses at the door. “One last question, why did you stay back?”

 

*

 

Anthony leaves the room quickly heading straight to Gassy’s office, but to his luck, he runs into him before he makes it there. 

“You don’t believe this do you, that Nanners’ did it?” 

Gassy quickly pulls him aside and to his office. “Now Chilled-” 

“That was a joke back then and you know it. N.T.N., Never Trust Nanners. Over game night, office prank wars, to who drank the last of the coffee.” He pauses, agitation growing “Is this all from that rumor?” 

Gassy shuts him down, voice firm. “We are just checking every possible lead.” 

“Adam is not a lead.” Anthony shot back, equally as firm. Knowing Max won’t back down, he turns to leave. 

“Chilled,” he calls out. “The media’s all over it, calling it an act of terrorism. Everyone’s breathing down my back, if I don’t look into it they _will,_ and it’ll be that much worse in their hands.” 

“But to look at the victims as perpetrators? Doesn’t that seem a bit much to you?” 

Back at his own desk, Anthony feels exhausted. He doesn’t get back to work, just stares at the blank monitor before him. 

He looks down at the case file he left open in front of him, coffee stained and creased. A redundant case that was opened again after being completely deconstructed and started anew. An idea begins to form in his head when he gets a tap on the shoulder. 

“Hey, it's quitting time. Are you spending the night in the office or what.” Ze says. 

“God not even in my nightmares.” 

They walk to the clock and punch out. 

Outside heat permeates the air, for a second it hangs there, but a brisk breeze interrupts it. Fall is looming, but not soon enough. 

They walk to their cars but before they separate Anthony cuts off Ze’s goodbye. 

“you don’t think Adam did it do you?” 

“What?” 

“the bomb. You don’t think he did it?” 

Ze visibly straitens, taken aback. “Oh my God, no. What are you talking about?” 

“Good,” Anthony replies ignoring the question. His mind already preoccupied with plans and ideas. “I might need your help then.”


End file.
